An afternoon puppy-napping and residential burglary last week
has led Hollister police to uncover a large burglary and fencing
operation which they believe involves at least half a dozen
suspects, an enormous cache of stolen property and has already put
two people police believe are involved behind bars.
Hollister – An afternoon puppy-napping and residential burglary last week has led Hollister police to uncover a large burglary and fencing operation which they believe involves at least half a dozen suspects, an enormous cache of stolen property and has already put two people police believe are involved behind bars.
Police arrested 34-year-old Hollister resident Antonia Covarrubia Nunez Wednesday evening for felony receiving stolen property and conspiracy in conjunction with the burglary Oct. 25. Nunez returned home to a residence in the 200 block of Ranchito Drive while police were executing a search warrant and was arrested, according to Detective Rudy Rodriguez, who declined further comment due to the pending large-scale investigation.
Another suspect police believe is involved with the burglary ring, Martha Castaneda, was arrested Sunday for burglary, receiving stolen property and conspiracy.
When Castaneda was arrested, police connected stolen property she had with three other residential burglaries that occurred during October, along with the Oct. 25 burglary on Clearview Drive where the eight three-week-old golden retriever puppies were stolen.
The number of connected burglaries has doubled since Castaneda’s arrest, and could rise even further before police finish their investigation, Rodriguez said.
“All said and done, we have confirmed at least six burglaries and (recovered) stolen property from those, but by the time the research is all done it will be much more than that,” Rodriguez said. “We have loads and loads of stolen property. There’s so much I couldn’t even begin to fathom how much it’s all worth.”
Police caught on to the burglary operation, which include the suspects fencing, or selling the items – which Rodriguez likened to a “stolen property warehouse” – after the puppies, a kitten and numerous other household items and clothing were stolen from the residence on Clearview Drive.
The owners of the puppies played detectives and tracked down six of the puppies and the kitten, which are home safe and sound, and led officers to Castaneda, according to Jose Prieto, one of the puppies’ owners. Two pups are still missing.
Prieto said a pipe used to smoke methamphetamine was left at the residence, and he worried the puppies might be sold to buy drugs. Rodriguez said he couldn’t confirm at this time what involvement drugs play in the burglaries.
Police Chief Jeff Miller commended not only the detective work that has gone into investigating the case, but said every officer on duty has contributed in some way to shedding light on the complex and evolving matter – whether it was conducting a search, serving a warrant, looking for a suspect, conducting an interview or identifying stolen property.
“Who knows how far reaching this goes,” Miller said. “Everybody, patrol especially, has pulled together on this. It is nowhere near a case where it’s just his job or their job, it became everybody’s job.”
While Rodriguez also declined to comment on the type of items recovered from Nunez’s residence, he said the items recovered so far run the gamut from personal affects to hobby equipment.
“Once everything’s tallied up and this investigation is complete it could possibly be one of the largest property recoveries,” he said. “It will be a good dent.”
Anyone with information regarding the burglaries should contact the Hollister Police Department at (831) 636-4330.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
